#ApacheStronghold Asks #SupremeCourt to #SaveOakFlat

By Becket Law, via #CensoredNews
Sept. 11, 2024

WASHINGTON – "A coalition of #WesternApaches, other #Native peoples, and non-Native #allies asked the #SupremeCourt today to protect their sacred site at #OakFlat from destruction by a multinational mining giant. In Apache Stronghold v. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to #ResolutionCopper, a foreign-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending #Apache religious practices forever (Watch video linked below to learn more).

"The Apaches and their allies hosted a day of prayer outside the Court as they asked the Justices to save the spiritual lifeblood of their people.
Since time immemorial, Western Apaches and other Native peoples have gathered at Oak Flat, outside of present-day Superior, Arizona, for sacred religious ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. Known in Apache as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, Oak Flat is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been protected from mining and other harmful practices for decades. These protections were targeted in December 2014 when a last-minute provision was inserted into a must- pass defense bill authorizing the transfer of Oak Flat to the Resolution Copper company. Resolution Copper is a foreign-owned mining company that plans to turn the sacred site into a two-mile-wide and 1,100-foot-deep crater. The majority owner of Resolution Copper, #RioTinto, sparked international outrage when it deliberately destroyed 46,000-year-old #Indigenous rock shelters at one of #Australia’s most significant cultural sites.

“'Oak Flat is our Mt. Sinai—the most sacred place where generations of Apache have come to connect with our Creator, our faith, and our land,' said Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold. 'We pray the Justices will protect Oak Flat and ensure that our place of worship is not treated differently simply because it lacks four walls and a steeple.”
Apache Stronghold—a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies—filed this lawsuit in January 2021 seeking to halt the proposed mine at Oak Flat. The mine is opposed by 21 of 22 federally recognized tribal nations in Arizona and by the National Congress of American Indians. Meanwhile, national polling indicates that 74% of Americans support protecting Oak Flat. The Ninth Circuit ruled earlier this year that the land transfer is not subject to federal laws protecting religious freedom. But five judges dissented, writing that the court 'tragically err[ed]' by refusing to protect Oak Flat. After unsuccessfully asking all 29 judges on the Ninth Circuit to rehear the case, Apache Stronghold has filed their appeal to the Supreme Court.

"'Blasting the birthplace of Apache religion into oblivion would be an egregious violation of our nation’s promise of religious freedom for people of all faiths,' said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. 'The Court should uphold its strong record of defending #ReligiousFreedom by ensuring that the Apaches can continue worshiping at Oak Flat as they have for centuries.'

"In addition to Becket, Apache Stronghold is represented by Erin Murphy of Clement & Murphy PLLC, Professor Stephanie Barclay of Georgetown Law School, and attorneys Michael V. Nixon and Clifford Levenson.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Ryan Colby at media@becketlaw.org or 202-349-7219."

Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/09/apache-stronghold-asks-supreme-court-to.html

Legal document:
https://www.becketlaw.org/media/breaking-apache-stronghold-asks-supreme-court-to-save-oak-flat/

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh68xOn0B_8

#SCOTUS #CopperMine
#ProtectOakFlat
#ProtectTheSacred
#DefendTheSacred
#IndigenousActivism
#SaveOakFlat
#WaterIsLife
#SacredSite
#CopperMining
#RecycleCopper
#NoMiningWithoutConsent
#CulturalGenocide
#Ecocide #NativeAmericanNews
#CorporateColonialism
#WashingtonDC
#PrayerRide
#PeacefulProtest
#FightForReligiousRights
#ChichilBildagoteel

#Lithium drilling project temporarily blocked on sacred #TribalLands in #Arizona

The case is among the latest legal fights to pit #NativeAmerican tribes and #environmentalists against President Joe #Biden’s administration.

By Scott Sonner, Associated Press

"A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries.

"Lawyers for the national environmental group #Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the #HualapaiTribe. They accuse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of illegally approving drilling planned by an Australian mining company in the #BigSandyRiverBasin in northwestern Arizona, about halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

"The case is among the latest legal fights to pit Native American tribes and environmentalists against President Joe Biden’s administration as green energy projects encroach on lands that are culturally significant.

"U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa granted a temporary restraining order late Monday, according to court documents. Humetewa is suspending the operation until she can hear initial arguments from the tribe, #ArizonaLithium Ltd., and the bureau at a hearing in #PhoenixArizona on Sept. 17.

"The tribe wants the judge to issue a preliminary injunction extending the prohibition on activity at the site pending trial on allegations that federal approval of the exploratory drilling violated the National Historic Preservation Act and National #Environmental Policy Act.

"'Like other tribal nations who for centuries have stewarded the lands across this country, the #Hualapai people are under siege by #mining interests trying to make a buck off destroying their cultural heritage,' Earthjustice lawyer Laura Berglan said in a statement Wednesday.

"The tribe says in court documents that the bureau failed to adequately analyze potential impacts to sacred springs the Hualapai people call Ha'Kamwe,' which means warm spring. The springs have served as a place 'for healing and prayer' for generations.

"The tribe and environmental groups also argue that a 2002 environmental review by the bureau and the U.S. Energy Department determined that the land was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a traditional cultural property.

"Arizona Lithium plans a total of 131 drilling sites across nearly a square mile (2.6 square kilometers) to obtain samples to help determine if there's enough lithium to construct a mine and extract the critical mineral needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles [#EVs], among other things."

Read more:
https://news.azpm.org/p/news-topical-nature/2024/8/21/221500-lithium-drilling-project-temporarily-blocked-on-sacred-tribal-lands-in-arizona/

#ProtectTheSacred #WaterIsLife #HaKamwe #SacredSite #CulturalGenocide
#EnvironmentalRacism
#NoMiningWithoutConsent
#LithiumMining #NoLithiumMining
#EarthJustice #BigSandyRiver
#WesternMiningActionProject #CorporateColonialism